People with acanthosis nigricans have velvety, brown to black patches of
skin on the back of the neck, the armpit, and elbows, and/or the knees.

The condition is most common in obese people and in those whose bodies
overproduce insulin. Those are two risk factors for diabetes. So does
acanthosis nigricans predict diabetes?

Likely, find Alberta S. Kong, MD, MPH, and colleagues at the University of
New Mexico in Albuquerque. Kong's team surveyed 96 doctors who reported data
from 1,133 patients seen during the same two-week period.

The doctors looked for three risk factors for diabetes -- being overweight
or obese, having family members with diabetes, and having high blood pressure.
Sure enough, the more diabetes risk factors a person had, the better the chance
that person had acanthosis nigricans.

Children and adults with acanthosis nigricans were twice as likely to have
diabetes as were those without the skin condition.

Children and teens aged 7 to 19 with acanthosis nigricans were 8.3 times
more likely to have at least two diabetes risk factors as were those without
the condition.

Adults aged 20 to 39 with acanthosis nigricans were 4.2 times more likely to
have at least two diabetes risk factors as were those without the
condition.

"Acanthosis nigricans can be used to rapidly identify those patients
with multiple risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus," Kong and
colleagues conclude.

The study findings appear in the May/June issue of Annals of Family
Medicine.

Do you think you may be at risk? Talk about it on the WebMD
Skin Care message board.

What type of diabetes do you have?

Your gender:

Answer:

Low0-69

Normal70-130

High131+

Your level is currently

If the level is below 70 or you are experiencing symptoms such as shaking, sweating or difficulty thinking, you will need to raise the number immediately. A quick solution is to eat a few pieces of hard candy or 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey. Recheck your numbers again in 15 minutes to see if the number has gone up. If not, repeat the steps above or call your doctor.

People who experience hypoglycemia several times in a week should call their health care provider. It's important to monitor your levels each day so you can make sure your numbers are within the range. If you are pregnant always consult with your health care provider.

Congratulations on taking steps to manage your health.

However, it's important to continue to track your numbers so that you can make lifestyle changes if needed. If you are pregnant always consult with your physician.

Your level is high if this reading was taken before eating. Aim for 70-130 before meals and less than 180 two hours after meals.

Even if your number is high, it's not too late for you to take control of your health and lower your blood sugar.

One of the first steps is to monitor your levels each day. If you are pregnant always consult with your physician.

Thank you for signing up for the WebMD Diabetes Newsletter!

You'll find tips and tricks as well as the latest news and research on Diabetes.

Did You Know Your Lifestyle Choices
Affect Your Blood Sugar?

Use the Blood Glucose Tracker to monitor
how well you manage your blood sugar over time.